Final Fantasy XVI, despite being a technical triumph and one of the most visually spectacular games released to date, tries to force many eclectic references into one single package only to end up with an incoherent and generic result.
Mechanically, it's stuck between a rock and a hard place: it cannot be an in-depth character action game a la Devil May Cry due to its mainstream ambitions; but because it still wants to be a character action game, it cannot be an RPG in the way hitherto Final Fantasies were. The end result is a combat system that, through a mix of visual and audio feedback, feels fantastic, but does not hold its own the whole way due to a lack of depth: this game offers so little in the way of choice that it's basically not an RPG, and once the player has figured out an effective combat routine, nothing about the opponents will push them to change anything.
But it's story-wise that FFXVI comes up way short. The ambition to make a dark, "serious" RPG is clear from the onset, but by the end the narrative is running through a checklist of JRPG clichés that make me think the writers simply didn't have the whole Game of Thrones style down, and ultimately had to fall back on what they knew to conclude their story. What I mean by this is that it's a game that will present a lot of desolation, but before any of it sinks in, the focus turns to Clive waxing poetical about human will and whatnot. The ending is utterly generic as well. ROT13: N znwbe rknzcyr, gb zr, vf gung jura Pyvir qrsrngf Hygvzn ur vafvfgf ba ubj punbgvp naq cnvashy gur jbeyq jvyy or juvyr vg gevrf gb erohvyq vgfrys jvgubhg n Tbq be zntvp; ohg gur rcvybthr vf na nofbyhgryl hgbcvna cvpgher jurer sybjref ner oybbzvat naq puvyqera ner cynlvat va gur svryqf, gur fha ng vgf mravgu. Thus here as well the game is between a rock and a hard place: it's not clear if we're supposed to read it as this mature GoT-like story because it doesn't have the harsh edges for it, but because it does try to present itself as mature, it cannot be appreciated as a candid and hopeful tale in the way FFVIIR might be read. The writing also suffers from being the most misogynistic I've seen a game be in a long, long time; even the heroine, Jill, is by and large only written as Clive's love interest. My theory is that this is also due to a lack of understanding of the whole "dark, GoT-like" style of writing: for these writers, "dark" can only mean male-centric, as it's men and men only who do the serious business in this old medieval world (see YoshiP's infamous comments on diversity in FFXVI for reference; although not directly about gender, I think they translate over pretty well to this issue). Thus women, except those who are on the side from the get-go (shout out to Mid), suffer from constant relegation to less than flattering roles, because they are deemed unfit for purpose. Ultimately I'd call the writing in FFXVI as generic in the worst ways: it picks up GoT-like clichés without any of the substance or, and ends with some of the most ancestral JRPG banalities. Whatever direction it takes, it simply fails to add any value of its own, and worse sometimes even fails to meet the standards of its sources.
All in all, I'd call FFXVI a disappointment. That said, it definitely sets the bar in some ways: visually it's a stunner, with some of the grandest cutscenes ever to be put in a video game. The amount of care put into every corner of the world is beautiful to see, whether it's in the way each area has a distinct visual identity and inner coherence, or in the exquisite technical details, such as those oh-so-beautiful shadows the game boasts. And this is what I'm hoping Final Fantasy XVI inspires: another game that might tie together the technical finesse and grandeur of XVI with more narrative and mechanical mastery. If that game comes, I think XVI will begin to age rapidly; but at least it's a game that can aspire to a heritage, so there's that.
Mechanically, it's stuck between a rock and a hard place: it cannot be an in-depth character action game a la Devil May Cry due to its mainstream ambitions; but because it still wants to be a character action game, it cannot be an RPG in the way hitherto Final Fantasies were. The end result is a combat system that, through a mix of visual and audio feedback, feels fantastic, but does not hold its own the whole way due to a lack of depth: this game offers so little in the way of choice that it's basically not an RPG, and once the player has figured out an effective combat routine, nothing about the opponents will push them to change anything.
But it's story-wise that FFXVI comes up way short. The ambition to make a dark, "serious" RPG is clear from the onset, but by the end the narrative is running through a checklist of JRPG clichés that make me think the writers simply didn't have the whole Game of Thrones style down, and ultimately had to fall back on what they knew to conclude their story. What I mean by this is that it's a game that will present a lot of desolation, but before any of it sinks in, the focus turns to Clive waxing poetical about human will and whatnot. The ending is utterly generic as well. ROT13: N znwbe rknzcyr, gb zr, vf gung jura Pyvir qrsrngf Hygvzn ur vafvfgf ba ubj punbgvp naq cnvashy gur jbeyq jvyy or juvyr vg gevrf gb erohvyq vgfrys jvgubhg n Tbq be zntvp; ohg gur rcvybthr vf na nofbyhgryl hgbcvna cvpgher jurer sybjref ner oybbzvat naq puvyqera ner cynlvat va gur svryqf, gur fha ng vgf mravgu. Thus here as well the game is between a rock and a hard place: it's not clear if we're supposed to read it as this mature GoT-like story because it doesn't have the harsh edges for it, but because it does try to present itself as mature, it cannot be appreciated as a candid and hopeful tale in the way FFVIIR might be read. The writing also suffers from being the most misogynistic I've seen a game be in a long, long time; even the heroine, Jill, is by and large only written as Clive's love interest. My theory is that this is also due to a lack of understanding of the whole "dark, GoT-like" style of writing: for these writers, "dark" can only mean male-centric, as it's men and men only who do the serious business in this old medieval world (see YoshiP's infamous comments on diversity in FFXVI for reference; although not directly about gender, I think they translate over pretty well to this issue). Thus women, except those who are on the side from the get-go (shout out to Mid), suffer from constant relegation to less than flattering roles, because they are deemed unfit for purpose. Ultimately I'd call the writing in FFXVI as generic in the worst ways: it picks up GoT-like clichés without any of the substance or, and ends with some of the most ancestral JRPG banalities. Whatever direction it takes, it simply fails to add any value of its own, and worse sometimes even fails to meet the standards of its sources.
All in all, I'd call FFXVI a disappointment. That said, it definitely sets the bar in some ways: visually it's a stunner, with some of the grandest cutscenes ever to be put in a video game. The amount of care put into every corner of the world is beautiful to see, whether it's in the way each area has a distinct visual identity and inner coherence, or in the exquisite technical details, such as those oh-so-beautiful shadows the game boasts. And this is what I'm hoping Final Fantasy XVI inspires: another game that might tie together the technical finesse and grandeur of XVI with more narrative and mechanical mastery. If that game comes, I think XVI will begin to age rapidly; but at least it's a game that can aspire to a heritage, so there's that.